His Ride or Die : Sons of Lost Souls MC Book Three

by Ellie R. Hunter

  One thing I have noticed with Zach and his family is he has distanced himself from them all so much I don’t think he knows how to find his way back. He admitted to me he was lost, and I believe that’s the only thing he is sure of in himself.

  “Do you genuinely like my brother?”

  What a strange way of asking such a question.

  “Yes, why wouldn’t I be genuine?”

  “You’ve been here a few times now, have you not seen the girls hanging around wanting our men whenever our backs are turned.”

  Zach wouldn’t cheat and besides, when would he have the time? He’s always with me.

  “Do the guys here all cheat with them then?” I ask, trying to see what point she is trying to make.

  “No, not really.”

  “If Zach ever cheated, not that we’re together, then he wouldn’t have cared for me like I thought.”

  I’m shrugging it off like it would not hurt the shit out of me, but it already hurts enough just to imagine it happening.

  I don’t just like him, I love him.

  Zachery

  I changed my mind a hundred times in the last hour, thinking of what I want to do to Andrew Smith when I get him in my sight, and now I’m sitting on my bike outside his house, with his neatly mowed lawn and his pompous rose bushes lining the path, I want to kill him and drain his blood in the soil all around his house.

  “What’s your plan?” Mason asks, checking out the street.

  No one is curtain twitching wanting to see why three brothers are on their street. Good.

  “We’re going to make it clear he’s to leave Nina alone.”

  “Does Cas or your dad know we’re here?” Myles asks.

  “Do you care if they don’t?”

  “No.” They both answer simultaneously. “Who’s this guy anyway?” Mason goes on to ask.

  “He’s the guy who’s been creeping on Nina for six years and it ends today. Let’s go.”

  The twins follow as ordered and I bang on the door three times, clearly loud enough to be heard.

  There’s no answer.

  I knock again and nothing.

  He isn’t scheduled to work today and his car is on the drive, I know the dick is home.

  It’s confirmed when Mason sees the blind twitch.

  “We’ve got a hider,” Myles chuckles and I roll my eyes.

  They have the ability to find humour in any situation. Let’s see how funny Andrew Smith finds me kicking in his door.

  He really should have answered. Stepping back, I brace myself and kick the door in. It only takes one heavy boot and we’re in. The walls are lined with photo frames from floor to ceiling and the only piece of furniture is a side table with a crystal bowl on top. The carpet looks swept rather than vacuumed. Nothing is out of place and everything is sterile.

  A shadow moves across the far wall and all three of us run after the creep. He makes it to the back door but because he fumbles with the key in the lock, we catch him easily enough.

  I drag his ass back into the living room and I’m left speechless as I take in my surroundings.

  There are many more framed photos on the walls, and sat on top of dressers and the mantle, and the window sill. Vomit threatens to come up and I struggle to swallow it down.

  All of them are of Nina, and him and Nina, which are clearly photoshopped. This is more than I thought it would be. This is insane.

  “Who are you? I’ll call the police if you don’t leave,” he stutters.

  I kneel down and clasp my hands together to stop myself from striking out and punching him straight in the jaw. I’m afraid I’ll knock him out.

  “You know exactly who we are, and you know who I am, don’t you?”

  He looks away, guilt covering his face but he doesn’t drop the pretence.

  “You’ve seen me coming and going from Nina’s house, haven’t you? You’ve been watching the whole time, haven’t you?”

  “I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “No? Let’s start from the beginning,” I suggest before I lose my temper.

  It’s clear this guy isn’t well.

  “When did you first meet Nina?”

  His lips press together into a think pink line and my fingers itch to curl and strike out.

  “I wouldn’t mess me around. Tell me, now.”

  “When she was at the diner with her mom.”

  “When did you ask her out?”

  “What?”

  Something behind me crashes to the floor and it’s the first slice of anger I see in his eyes and he lurches forward. I push him back down and turn to see what has been broken.

  “That was my mother’s favourite dish.”

  “She’s dead, she won’t miss it,” Mason smirks.

  “Oh, that was savage,” Myles chuckles.

  “Not as savage as this guy, look at this place. He’s off his head. Have you even been between her legs, our brother here has and I should tell you it must be pretty nice there cause he hasn’t stopped smiling since he started banging her, you don’t look so happy.”

  I swear to god, I could punch Myles right now for talking like that. I get why he is but I don’t fucking like it.

  “She wouldn’t touch someone like you,” he blurts out and I raise my eyebrows at him.

  “Someone like me? Whatever do you mean?” I say, a little too cockily.

  “A dirty criminal,” he spits out at me.

  “Dirty? I’m not dirty but I am here to tell you to stay away from her.”

  I take offence at his dirty remark, but steer clear of his term, criminal.

  “Or what?”

  The twins both break out into laughter while I struggle to work this guy out. He knows we’re Lost Souls yet he is genuinely trying to protect Nina.

  “Nina says she’s never met you, why do you follow her around?”

  “To keep her safe from you.”

  “What makes you think I’d hurt her?”

  “They always do, I’m the only one who knows how to look after her. You’ll soon get bored of her and drop her, but I’ll be there when you’re gone. I always am.”

  I can’t hear any more from him.

  Lightning fast, I shoot my arm out and punch him clean in the jaw. It knocks him down on his back from where he was sitting, and I lean over him before he can get up.

  Punching him again and again, I hurt him for Nina, for Rose who died thinking this piece of shit wasn’t in her daughter’s life any longer and I hurt him just because I want to and because I can. It feels too good.

  His body goes lax and I stand, trying to get my breath back to even. I step away from his unconscious body and backtrack to the hall. The women in these photos are not Nina. Moving through his one up, one down house, it gets stranger and stranger with every step I take. I end up in his bedroom and I stop dead at the bottom of his bed.

  Hanging above the headboard is a canvas print of him with the three women in the photos around his house. This is photoshopped to hell.

  Nina is in most of the photos and she doesn’t look aware of them being taking in any of them.

  Across the wall under the window is a woman’s dresser and on top are two bottles of perfume I recognise one from Nina’s dresser at her home. I open a drawer and a replica of her hairbrush is sitting inside. Opening another drawer, I find doubles of everything she owns. There are other things I don’t recognise but these must be things from the other two women in the pictures.

  “Your girl isn’t safe, we’re not dealing with someone we can beat up and scare into leaving her alone. This is something else. Myles is checking the basement in case he has someone tied up down there.”

  He’s not messing around. Myles really is checking in case this sick fuck has someone held here against their will.

  “Hang on, if you’re up here and Myles is in the basement, where’s Andrew?”

  “Tied to a chair,” he smirks, and I sigh in relief.

  Some people ar
e police callers and some people are bendable. Andrew strikes me as someone who would be straight on the phone to the cops.

  I pull out my phone and swallow my pride. I bring up my dad’s number and hit call.

  His heartrate must be spiking because he answers on the second ring and sounds too excited to hear from me.

  “I need your help.” Is all I say.

  “Are you okay? Where are you?”

  “I’m fine, I’m with the twins. Can you come?”

  I rattle off Andrews address and know he isn’t more than a half hour ride away.

  “Of course. I’ll leave now.”

  The line goes dead and Mason says nothing when I turn back to him.

  “Let’s go have some fun with Mr. McStalker Pants.”

  “Really? You’ve come up with a name for him?”

  “Hey, you’re the one who dragged us here to crazy land. I just can’t believe people in this town think we’re the bad ones, and this is in their back yard.”

  Yeah, I get that.

  We make it to the bottom of the stairs when Myles comes up from the basement.

  “Anything?”

  “Um, you might want to take a look for yourselves, you’ve got to see it to believe it.”

  Mason follows me down to the dark, barely lit brick basement and my heart stops.

  “Fuck,” Mason sighs.

  Every wall is scraps and cut-outs from magazines and catalogues showcasing nice homes and cars, babies and most prominently, his and Nina’s faces stuck onto their faces.

  This is too much, I’m glad I called my dad now. I’m pretty sure Cas will be pissed if I go back having to explain I killed someone from town, and he’s not well, he doesn’t need the hassle.

  Nina is his favourite, it’s so fucking obvious throughout the house. She’s the one he followed across the country and she’s the one he followed back to town.

  If she thought I wasn’t letting her out of my sight or my family’s sight before, shit between us is about to get even tighter.

  “Take this shit down, I’m going to wait for my dad before I burn this place down with him in it.”

  “No one would blame you.”

  Twenty-six minutes later and my dad is pulling up outside the house with Ricky and parking next to my bike.

  He looks worried as he gets closer and he should be, I’m losing my fucking mind over this.

  “What’s going on? Who lives here?” he asks.

  “Come and look for yourself.”

  He and Ricky follow me inside and no one is shocked that there is a bleeding faced man tied to a chair. This is one of the things I love about the club, brothers knowing that this guy has done something to deserve this. We’re not monsters.

  “This is Andrew Smith, he lives here alone so we won’t be disturbed,” I begin but Myles interrupts.

  “Oh, the prick is disturbed for sure.”

  Ricky frowns at his son but he keeps quiet, sits on the couch and crosses his leg over his knee. He makes himself comfortable and I return my attention to my dad.

  “I don’t understand. Someone, anyone, please explain.”

  “Take a look around and look at all the pictures.”

  Recognition hits him slowly and I sigh in relief. The frown line between his eyes deepens the more he sees, and his jaw tightens.

  “Is this your girl? Is he her ex or something?”

  That would be easy to deal with, in fact, I wish he was an ex we could put the fear in.

  “He’s not an ex, he stalks her. All these photos are photoshopped together and it’s even worse in the bedroom, and not to mention the basement.”

  “Basement?” Ricky asks.

  “Come take a look, dad, it’s so fucked up,” Myles offers too excitedly, and they leave the room. Mason follows shortly after and dad looks to me.

  “What do you need my help with?”

  “I don’t want to kill him, I didn’t think it would go down well, but I don’t think he’s going to listen to anything I have to say.”

  “What makes you think he’ll listen to me?”

  “He was knocked out with the three of us here and he’s going to wake up to five of us, I want you, with me, to fucking scare the shit out of him.”

  “And if that doesn’t work?”

  “Then I’ll slice his throat open, and you’ll make sure Cas stays off my back.”

  “Why aren’t you worrying about me being on your case about it, you think you can stay sane after slitting someone’s throat? I didn’t raise you to be this soulless.”

  “No, you raised me to defend and protect what’s ours and she’s mine. Go and take a tour of the place and you tell me you wouldn’t do the same for mom if he was infatuated with her.”

  He relents. His shoulders fall, and he wipes his hand over his face before laying his eyes on Andrew.

  “Is it really that bad?”

  “I wouldn’t have called you here if it wasn’t. He’s not right.”

  The prick is still unconscious, and I’d be happy if he never woke up again.

  “Then it’s most likely he’s going to die.”

  “Best you save him.”

  He pulls across a chair that was sitting in the corner of the room and places it in front of Andrew.

  He takes a seat and assess his face.

  “I take it this is your handiwork?” he asks, glancing at my knuckles.

  “You’re damn right.”

  He slaps him twice and he comes around and jolts against his restraints. He begins shaking and I swear, if he pisses himself I’m going to knock him out again.

  “Who are you?” he asks dad.

  “I’m here to save you. You have two options, but I only want you to choose one, so decide carefully. Okay?”

  Andrew nods and in some ways, he reminds me of a child.

  “Zach, go and fetch me a bowl of warm water and something to wipe his face.”

  Really? I’m being turned into the errand boy?

  “Do you take medication for being a sick fuck?” I hear dad ask and hear very clearly the snorted reply.

  “I wasn’t joking, do you take medication?”

  “No,” his small reply comes.

  “Good, now do me a favour and don’t make me repeat myself.”

  I fill a bowl I find in the cupboard and grab a dish towel hanging from the stove door handle. Carrying it through to the living room, dad takes it from me without saying a word and I catch every second as Andrew stares at me through his swollen eyes.

  “What’s your relationship with Nina, Andrew? I mean, my son has only known her a short few weeks and I don’t know much about her. Why don’t you fill me in?”

  Love shines in his eyes and replaces the craziness. He smiles at my dad like he’s remembering some epic love affair he and her once shared.

  “I look out for her, she gets herself into trouble, does our Nina. She’s nice and beautiful.”

  “She’s also fucking my son, so tell me, what is your relationship with her?”

  The shining love in his eyes has now gone and slimy anger is there.

  “This is why he isn’t any good for her,” he snaps, jutting his chin in my direction. “You’re all rude and crass. She’s an angel and too damn good for him.”

  “You’re not wrong, my son is an asshole. He gets high every day, he drinks far too much, and he treats his mother with such disrespect I should slap him silly for it. Nina’s a good girl, I don’t know what she sees in him.”

  Way to go, dad. Asshole. But, it’s got something through to Andrew.

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to say. She does this sometimes, she finds these men and they always treat her bad, but I wouldn’t.”

  “How would you treat her?” Dad asks him, wringing out the towel from the bowl of water.

  He begins to clean his face up and the moment softens further between them. If I’m not mistaken, he’s trusting my father and I’m glad I called him in to help.

  “Like a
queen, I’d treat her with respect and honesty. Can your son say the same when he’s a part of that club?”

  “You mean the club I roll with too?”

  He gulps realising what he said and casts his eyes down to his lap.

  “Look, Nina is a very nice girl and if she is as bad at picking guys as you say, then what’s going on with her and my boy won’t last long, will it?”

  “I suppose not.”

  “And you do realise that when you follow her around and snoop through her windows, that scares her and makes her not want to have you around. Do you see that?”

  “How will I know she’s safe if I don’t watch her, I’m not doing anything wrong.”

  Wow. I can’t even fathom this into a coherent thought.

  “Shall I tell you how this is going to go?”

  He nods his head and I realise Ricky and the twins have joined us and are sitting on the chairs and couch. I don’t know how long they’ve been there.

  “First, I’m going to apologise for my son and my brothers, they should never have busted in here the way they did, and they shouldn’t have put their hands on you. I’m sorry. Say you forgive them.”

  He looks at me and the twins and he must feel we are not sorry one little bit.

  “I forgive them.”

  “Secondly, you’re going to stay away from Nina. She doesn’t need or want you watching her. You’re not going to stop by her house, pay her bills or leave her flowers any more. Are you?”

  “No.”

  He’s lying.

  He’s not as sick as I thought. He’s fucking playing us like fools.

  “I was only trying to look out for her.”

  “That’s my son’s job now. If she need help, he’ll be the one at her side.”

  He goes to speak but dad leans in and has him regretting opening his mouth.

  “Hey now, think carefully before you say a word. You don’t want to make me angry. Tell me you’re going to stay away from Nina and I’ll promise I won’t let my son kill you.”

  Seconds tick by and my patience wears thin, he needs to answer in order to save his life. His eyes lift to my dad’s and his mouth opens.